Shanghai DOBE Cultural & Creative Industry Development (Group)Co. LTD. (SZSE:300947) shares have continued their recent momentum with a 28% gain in the last month alone. Looking further back, the 17% rise over the last twelve months isn't too bad notwithstanding the strength over the last 30 days.

After such a large jump in price, Shanghai DOBE Cultural & Creative Industry Development (Group)Co may be sending very bearish signals at the moment with a price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio of 68.5x, since almost half of all companies in China have P/E ratios under 28x and even P/E's lower than 17x are not unusual. Nonetheless, we'd need to dig a little deeper to determine if there is a rational basis for the highly elevated P/E.

Recent times have been quite advantageous for Shanghai DOBE Cultural & Creative Industry Development (Group)Co as its earnings have been rising very briskly. It seems that many are expecting the strong earnings performance to beat most other companies over the coming period, which has increased investors' willingness to pay up for the stock. If not, then existing shareholders might be a little nervous about the viability of the share price.

Does Growth Match The High P/E?

In order to justify its P/E ratio, Shanghai DOBE Cultural & Creative Industry Development (Group)Co would need to produce outstanding growth well in excess of the market.

Taking a look back first, we see that the company grew earnings per share by an impressive 339% last year. However, this wasn't enough as the latest three year period has seen a very unpleasant 63% drop in EPS in aggregate. Therefore, it's fair to say the earnings growth recently has been undesirable for the company.

In contrast to the company, the rest of the market is expected to grow by 36% over the next year, which really puts the company's recent medium-term earnings decline into perspective.

In light of this, it's alarming that Shanghai DOBE Cultural & Creative Industry Development (Group)Co's P/E sits above the majority of other companies. It seems most investors are ignoring the recent poor growth rate and are hoping for a turnaround in the company's business prospects. Only the boldest would assume these prices are sustainable as a continuation of recent earnings trends is likely to weigh heavily on the share price eventually.

The Bottom Line On Shanghai DOBE Cultural & Creative Industry Development (Group)Co's P/E

Shanghai DOBE Cultural & Creative Industry Development (Group)Co's P/E is flying high just like its stock has during the last month. Typically, we'd caution against reading too much into price-to-earnings ratios when settling on investment decisions, though it can reveal plenty about what other market participants think about the company.

We've established that Shanghai DOBE Cultural & Creative Industry Development (Group)Co currently trades on a much higher than expected P/E since its recent earnings have been in decline over the medium-term. Right now we are increasingly uncomfortable with the high P/E as this earnings performance is highly unlikely to support such positive sentiment for long. Unless the recent medium-term conditions improve markedly, it's very challenging to accept these prices as being reasonable.

Don't forget that there may be other risks. For instance, we've identified 3 warning signs for Shanghai DOBE Cultural & Creative Industry Development (Group)Co (2 are potentially serious) you should be aware of.

Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking at a few good candidates. So take a peek at this free list of companies with a strong growth track record, trading on a low P/E.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

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